Push
by Red Tigress
Summary: After a fight with his partner, Danny is used as leverage against him. Amends might have to wait.
1. Chapter 1

Kono sat biting her nails nervously, her eyes on her team. Chin sat on the desk next to her, his face betraying nothing, but she could see from the way he was twiddling a pen in his fingers as opposed to having his arms comfortably crossed over his chest, the situation bothered him as much as her. The other two members of their team stood in the hallway outside their room, seemingly indifferent to their audience.

Steve McGarrett had his arms crossed over his chest, the opposite of Chin's usually relaxed posture of the same motions. His hands were gripping his biceps, and Kono could see his jaw working furiously as he fought not to say what was on his mind to his partner. Danny Williams was the opposite of that, hands and arms flailing, saying _everything_ that was on his mind.

"It was a Zippo! A goddamn lighter! And you killed him over it!" Kono tried to piece together what had happened from both of their stories so far. They had been going to a perp's house, to interview him as a person of interest in their case, but he had had priors. They had both been on their guard. They found him in his backyard, and made their presence known, when he had reached behind him. Steve had saw a flash of something silver, and rather than wait to see if it was a gun, drew his own, killing the perp. It was not a good scene.

Steve knew he had made a mistake, that much was obvious. But Danny continued to chew him out over his stupidity and recklessness.

Which from the way he was doing it, seemed a little unwarranted to Kono.

"I made a split second decision when I thought we were in danger. It was a mistake." Steve said, through gritted teeth. Kono and Chin had arrived with the CSU later, but at the time, Danny had been speechless. It seemed now he was making up for it.

"You couldn't have waited another damn second? Really? Because if it was a gun, I know you could have at least popped him before he had time to aim. Or shot him in the shoulder. Something!" Danny through his arms in the air, and turned away, before spinning back around to face his partner just as quickly, his finger pointing dangerously close to Steve's chest. "You're a gun-toting, military maniac, and now someone is DEAD when they shouldn't be and we have no leads, all because you had an itchy trigger finger!"

Unlike Danny's normal playful jabs at his partner, these words were meant to wound, and Kono covered her mouth with her hand when she saw a flicker of hurt cross Steve's face, before the militant resolve was back and the mask was up.

Danny looked a bit regretful at that, but his rage was back a moment later when Steve said "Would you have done the same if it was Grace with you?"

Steve knew it was the wrong thing to say, but he said it anyway. Danny's voice became dangerously soft. "Don't bring my daughter into this." He took a breath to speak, but then closed his mouth. He opened it a moment later and said "She is not a trained police officer."

"Neither am I, technically." Steve growled down.

"That's no excuse to go killing people on a whim!"

Steve's arms came uncrossed then, and he slapped his hand on his chest. "At least I acted! At least I don't sit there, and whine, about _everything_, and wait for someone to do the dirty work for me! Our job's not always going to be clean, Danny, and you seem to be the only one not getting that!"

Danny's eyes went wide, and he opened and closed his mouth for a minute, before his face seemed to take on a new resolve. He waved his hand dismissively, before turning around. "Fine. You want to clean up this mess? Do it without me." He started to walk away, but paused a moment, when he saw Chin and Kono looking at him. "Sorry," he muttered to them before heading out of the office and slamming the door shut behind him.

Steve stomped off to his own office and didn't look back.

Kono looked up worriedly at her cousin. "Chin?"

He sighed, before putting the pen back down on the desk and standing up. "I hope they can repair this one."

To Kono, right now it seemed doubtful they could.

5-0

Danny was fuming as he roared out of the parking lot in his Camaro. He gripped the steering wheel as he reflected on the morning's events. Sure, tempers had been high. He had said some things to Steve that he shouldn't have. But dammit, Steve had shot and killed an unarmed man. He couldn't forgive that.

Or could he? The man had been a perp. They had both been on edge. Steve had been trying to protect them. "Dammit," he muttered as he slapped the steering wheel in frustration.

His thoughts were suddenly and violently interrupted by a force slamming into the side of the Camaro as he passed through an intersection. He smashed his head on the window, blacking out for what he thought might be a few moments. However, when he came to, he realized the car had stopped. Dazedly, he looked around, trying to piece together what happened. His shoulder was sore where he imagined the seatbelt had caught it, but his head was pounding. He took a few deep breaths, wincing as his whole body seemed to ache with the action, trying to regain his composure as the world shifted in and out of focus around him.

The car was a mess. The window of his door was cracked, with blood smeared on it. He noted it was probably his, but at the moment wasn't sure why he should care. The interior seemed to be smaller, as if something had pushed the metal inside. He looked out the window now instead of at it, and noticed a huge black SUV slowly backing up. It had some sort of metal rack on the front. _To reduce damage from front-end collisions_, his brain seemed to recite.

He heard muffled voices outside, and saw a blurry face appear in the driver's side window. He tried to call out for help, but he couldn't make his voice work. The figure wrenched open the door and Danny felt himself tilting out of the car, still held in place by his seatbelt. The man cut it with a knife, and caught Danny as he fell.

Danny winced in pain as the man's shout cut through his head: "It's not him! It's not McGarrett!" Danny mentally sighed. Ugh, everyone always wanted to talk to Steve. He thought he might be angry with his partner, but he couldn't remember why…

Before he could try and shuffle through this new information, a voice answered back, "It's his partner! Put him in the truck!" The hands holding him pulled him forcefully out of the car, and he cried out as a savage pain laced through his foot and up his leg, before that was intensified when his feet hit the pavement below him and he was dragged through the street. Damn, didn't EMTs have stretchers?

Suddenly, he realized these weren't EMTs. The thought clicked, and the fog around his brain seemed to lessen somewhat. Of course, all he could manage was a mumbled "Lemme go…I'm a cop…" The man pulling him along didn't seem to react. He remembered then that he was a police officer, and he did have a gun. He tried to reach for it, and the man finally noticing that his luggage was starting to become more aware reached down faster than Danny could, snagging his gun from the holster on his hip. Danny knew no more as he was then pistol-whipped with his own weapon.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you all very much for your reviews and alerts. It really help keeps me motivated! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story so far, and don't worries, the whumpage continues!_

The first thing Danny was aware of was that his head was killing him. It felt like someone had his brain in a vice grip, squeezing in time to his heartbeat. He groaned when he felt himself fly up a few inches into the air, and then land with a thud.

Which brought him to the second thing he was aware of, which was that he was moving.

He dimly tried to recall the details of the last few hours. He opened his eyes, and noted it was mostly dark, save for some cracks of light coming from somewhere in front of him. He could feel more than hear a huge engine underneath him. A boat…

And he was locked in a closet on said boat. _Damn island,_ he thought. He tried to move his hands, but they had been crossed behind him and secured with duct tape. Something he couldn't wriggle out of. He began to move his feet to see if they were also secured, but the result of that was a spiking pain through the top of his foot and up his shin. He bit his lip to keep from crying out. So, yes, he was secured, but there was also something broken or cracked in his foot. Fabulous.

How had that happened? With startling clarity, he remembered the car crash, the abduction _(he refused to call it 'kidnapped')_, and how whoever it was that had pulled him from the wreckage had been adamant about how they had been looking for…

_Steve._

Danny seethed inwardly remembering the fight with his partner _(could he still call him that?)_ and how some maniacs now had taken him, probably as leverage. All these guys were always after Steve, like he made it a priority to go about wrecking criminals' lives, resulting in grudges.

Danny never used to have these problems.

His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps, and the door was opened. A gray-haired man in black combat boots, forest green cargo pants and a matching jacket stood there. "Ah, good, you're awake," he said in a stern voice with a bit of a Southern accent. He nodded to a younger man behind him who was similarly dressed. The man stepped forward and pulled him out from his crumpled up position in the closet to the adjacent room. It had probably been some sort of bedroom, but there were no furnishings to speak of. The yacht rumbled along as the older man began talking to Danny on the floor.

"So, you're not McGarrett."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Nope, and I'm not related to him, and I don't go to movies with him, and I don't go bowling with him. But I'll tell you what I _do_ do, and that is work for the HPD, so you'd be wise to let me go. Because, you know, this is an island, and they _do _have boats too. Like the ones on _CSI:Miami._ Ever see a cop on a boat? They're brutal."

The older man lowered his eyelids in what looked like a bored expression. "Shut him up."

The other guy took a huge step forward and gave Danny a kick to the abdomen. The detective curled in on himself, coughing. Between that and the pain in his head, he felt like he was going to be sick.

The older man crossed his arms. "Please don't speak again unless I ask you to," he drawled. He continued on like there wasn't a man coughing and curled in on himself on the ground in front of him. "Let me tell you a little about myself. I am Commander Jackson, formerly of the US Navy. See, your partner cost me my job when he went behind my back and reported me for something that, well, wasn't really my fault, you see. Luckily my friends here at Black Dawn had a position open. And I've been working with them ever since."

Danny, now able to breathe again, fought the urge to roll his eyes once more. Obviously this guy was nuts and probably had some something really bad for McGarrett to get a court martial against a superior officer. But, the man invited danger and unwanted attention into his life like some good neighbors coming to a block party.

"Remind me…why I care." Danny ground out.

Jackson sighed, like he was explaining this all to a simpleton. "I told you, I'm after McGarrett, not you. But if you're good and cooperate on this phone call I'm about to make to your partner, maybe I'll let you go in one piece.

He didn't even ask Danny if he understood as he took out his phone and started dialing a number.

5-0

Steve McGarrett sat in his office re-reading a case document for what seemed like the 50th time today. He was still on the first page. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier. Danny had been right in a way of course, like he always was. Steve knew he could be hot-headed, and he had probably crossed a line. He supposed he could understand Danny's response and his anger when Steve hadn't admitted to his mistake.

Still. Danny had said some nasty things. If that's how he really felt about him, then perhaps this task force couldn't work at all. Because if he felt that way, maybe Chin and Kono…

No. He couldn't force himself to think like that, not now. Not when they still had cases to wrap up.

He heard a phone ringing distantly and Chin's muffled voice answering it. He didn't really think anything of it, until Chin came running to his office a minute later.

"You better come quick," he said alarmed.

"What is it?" Steve was instantly on his feet.

"They found Danny's car. Wrecked. Without Danny in it."

5-0

Chin, Kono, and Steve were on the scene a short time later, watching the CSU work and talking to witnesses. They found out someone had rammed the Camaro in the middle of the intersection, dragging Danny's body from it and into their SUV before speeding away. All the team could get was that it was men in combat gear that had taken him and they drove black SUVs. Apparently, it had all happened too quickly for anyone to notice much else.

However, someone had noticed the vehicle had had some sort of metal grate attached to the front that was extra. The colliding vehicle hadn't looked too damaged. It was enough to put out an APB.

Steve went over to the Camaro and leaned down to look inside of it, rubbing his hand over his hair. It looked mostly intact, though surprisingly the hood of the car had folded inward and downward. There were also blood stains on the driver's side window. Steve bit his lip uncertainly. He noticed Kono out of the corner of his eye watching him with concern. She couldn't bring herself to come over. He didn't really blame her.

Sure, he and Danny may have been fighting, but he didn't deserve this. And now he was missing. Maybe if they hadn't fought, maybe if Steve had been with him…

There were too many "ifs" in this situation. There weren't enough facts to find Danny.

Steve was pulled out of his thoughts abruptly by Chin putting his handle on his shoulder. "Hey bra, your phone's ringing."

Steve fished the phone out of his pocket looking at it briefly and seeing an unknown number. He answered with a clipped "McGarrett."

"_Hello, Lieutenant Commander. Enjoying the island weather?"_ a man with a southern accent drawled on the other end of the line.

"Who is this?"

"_It almost brings me to tears you don't remember me. After all, you did get me court martialed."_

A sudden clarity struck Steve and he stood up straight. Chin watched his eyes narrow and his voice take on a steely tone. "Jackson, what do you want?"

"_Well, that brings me to my earlier question. Are you enjoying the island weather? Because I have someone here who isn't."_

Steve heard the phone shift and a harsh breathing on the other end of the line. He heard Jackson's voice a little more softly, like he was holding the phone away from him. _"Go on, Detective, say hello."_

Still nothing. Steve's eyes widened in realization and a split second later he heard Danny's voice cry out on the other end of the line.

_A/N: Hmm, yes. More details about Baddy McBadderson in the next chapter, but I'm not sure how many of you care with all the whump around. ;)_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks everyone so much for the reviews! Sorry this update didn't come a bit sooner, I was very busy these past few weeks and also had a bit of a writer's block. This one's a little extra long than the other two, so I hope that makes up for it._

Danny had tried to keep quiet when Jackson's goon had stomped on his foot, but that wasn't going to happen. He brought his knees to his chest, trying automatically to bring his injured foot closer to the core of his body. He could vaguely hear Steve's voice calling his name from the phone Jackson was still holding in front of his face. He hadn't wanted to make noise. Now he knew his partner would come for him, no matter what relationship they currently had. He wanted to be rescued, sure (_who wouldn't?)_, but he knew this guy would kill Steve. He hadn't explicitly said so, and even though they weren't getting along at the moment, Danny knew he couldn't put his partner (_err, ex-partner)_ in that predicament.

Jackson had put the phone back to his own ear. "You have two hours to find me and turn yourself over, or your partner dies," he said. Danny cringed, and wondered how he was going to get out of this one.

5-0

"Shit!" Steve cursed. Chin was there, looking expectedly at him for direction, Kono coming up behind him, looking worried but determined. "Come with me," he told them.

He and Kono got into a borrowed police vehicle while Chin followed them on his motorcycle back to headquarters. Kono hadn't said a word to him, and he hadn't said a word to her. Nothing needed to be said. They knew they had a job to do, and their teammate's life was on the line.

Steve couldn't stop replaying the conversation between Jackson in his head which in turn made him replay the conversation with Danny in his head. They had both been out of line. At the time, Steve had only felt somewhat regretful for the things he had done and said. He hadn't meant to kill that guy, of course. But Danny's shocked reactions and later accusatory tones…well, he hadn't really thought about what he would say in reply.

The fact was, it had actually hurt Steve that Danny had said what he did. He was somewhat ashamed that Danny had managed to rile him so easily. On the other hand, it was Danny.

In a startling realization of clarity, Steve realized that whatever Danny said to him, it always mattered, and he took it to heart.

"Damn it," Steve said softly, knuckles white on the steering wheel. Kono seemed to guess what he was thinking at that point.

"Steve," she said quietly. He only spared a brief glance in her direction before his eyes were back on the road. "This isn't your fault. People get in fights all the time. Don't feel like you drove him into a criminal's hands."

But that's exactly how he felt.

Maybe if Danny hadn't been so eager to leave, they could have avoided this mess, or Jackson wouldn't have made the mistake of kidnapping the wrong Five-0 member.

Chin roared past them on his motorcycle, turning into headquarters. Minutes later, they all found themselves inside, gathered around the briefing table. Steve tossed his phone at Chin who caught it with ease. "Get HPD to run a trace on the last number to dial that phone." Chin nodded once before putting his own phone to his ear and making the necessary arrangements with the person on the other line.

"They're working on it," he assured Steve.

Steve nodded once before exhaling quietly. "Ok. I knew this guy. Former Commander Cameron Jackson." Chin and Kono had already guessed as much, but they each nodded patiently waiting for Steve to go on. "We were stationed in Panama for a few weeks, along with a private military contract group, Black Dawn. At the time, he was my senior officer. I found out he was dealing drugs under the table, along with Black Dawn, to some of our fellow SEALs. It was putting everyone at risk. So, I went over his head and reported him for it."

"Guess he held a grudge." Chin said.

Steve scoffed. "Apparently most bad eggs do."

"How are we going to get Danny back?" Kono interrupted. Steve was about to reply when Chin's phone went off.

He looked at the screen, before answering. "That was fast." He paused for a moment. "Thanks." He hung up, and a moment later his phone beeped with a txt message. He looked at his teammates.

"The phone's GPS is on, but it's moving. Over water. They wanted us to find them." Steve looked at Kono before back at Chin. "Good, then we don't have much time. Alert HPD and the Coast Guard what's going on, but we won't be going in with their backup. Too much activity will alert Jackson, and he wants just me."

Chin nodded before moving to an adjacent office with his phone to start making calls.

Steve looked at Kono. "You up for some snorkeling?"

5-0

An hour later, Kono was covered from head to foot in black neoprene. Chin drove the motor boat they were on, while Steve stood tensely nearby, gripping his phone in his hand and giving bearings to Chin to follow. Dusk was falling, and visibility was low. Jackson was probably counting on that to his advantage, but they were going to use it for theirs. Soon they saw running lights in the distance, and Chin slowed a little. Kono moved to the stern of the boat, crouching down as she did so.

5-0

The last hour for Danny had been a dull, pain-filled haze, but remarkably uneventful. After the phone call, Jackson and Goon Guy had left him alone to wallow in his own self-pity. He tried not to think about Grace, or his team, as his worry mounted. Instead, he started asking questions he realized he didn't know about Hawaii. If he was so determined to hate the place, he should know more about it, so he could have more things _to_ hate. For instance, what was the state bird, and why should he hate it? Did people do a sport other than surfing? He should hate that sport and surfing as well. Well, he already hated surfing, so that was one thing done. Where were the movie and TV studios around here? Because he would probably always hate _Lost._

It was in the middle of these rantings Jackson and Goon Guy came back. He was wondering if they were the only people on the boat. If so, he might stand a chance. Well, they had to have a driver of some sort. He wasn't aware of the nautical term. So he asked.

"What's the nautical term for boat steer-er guy? And is whoever it was one of your henchman too?"

Jackson sneered, obviously impatient. "Make sure he stays quiet, and bring him up so you can see us." The Goon Guy only had a bored, general mean guy look on his face, but he picked Danny up and wrapped his arm around his throat so fast, Danny could have thought he delighted in this sort of thing. The detective's feet scraped the floor searching for purchase, but it didn't change the fact this guy was mostly holding him up by his _neck_. He was easing up just enough for Danny to suck in breath, but before he knew it, he was being hauled up the cabin steps.

They emerged into a room on the top deck, covered in tinted windows. The sun was setting, but Danny could make out two more guys on the deck outside the door. With guns. Pulling up to the boat Steve and Chin.

Danny wanted to cry for joy and also frustration. The morons, what were they doing here without backup? Couldn't Steve figure out this guy was out to kill them?

Well, Steve probably knew everyone was out to kill them.

Couldn't Chin figure out this guy was out to kill them?

Of course, Chin did ride a motorcycle; even Steve wasn't stupid enough to do that.

Danny couldn't figure out why he had joined this team.

He noted absently it was probably his lack of oxygen from Goon Guy's huge caveman forearm lodged in his larynx, but at least he was still conscious.

Jackson turned to look at them again. "Keep him quiet," he said, before stepping out.

5-0

Steve grimaced as he saw Jackson step out onto the deck. "I said come alone," he called down.

"He's my driver," Steve called back.

"Then get on the boat, and make him leave," Jackson said patiently. Steve looked at Chin, who just nodded. Reluctantly, Steve stepped onto the boat.

"Where's Detective Williams?" Steve kept up his intimidating stare as the guys with guns on the deck searched him for weapons. He had his hands in the air.

Jackson sighed. "Don't worry about him right now. Make your driver leave." An unspoken command was given, and the thugs on the deck leveled their guns at Steve. Steve turned his head, and gave Chin a little wave. Chin nodded, revved the motor, and sped off in the direction they had come from.

5-0

Kono's head breached the surface of the water with barely a ripple behind Jackson's yacht. Quietly, she lifted one arm out of the water and onto the low stern deck. She brought the other arm up and gingerly lifted herself out of the water. She waited for a moment trying to detect movement, but she could only hear voices coming from the bow. She pulled herself the rest of the way up, and crouched low, unzipping the front of her wetsuit as quietly as she could. She reached under her arm and pulled out her gun, clicking the safety off as she did so.

She was creeping up the stairs to the backdoor of the main cabin when she heard the motor of Jinn's boat start, and then speed away. She didn't have much time. Putting her back up against the door, she peered over her shoulder into the window. There she could see a huge man with a somewhat struggling Danny. She moved her hand slowly towards the door latch.

5-0

Danny watched Chin speed off. Jackson signaled to goon-face who moved forward with Danny still in tow. Danny sucked in some breath and clawed a bit at the guy's arm. At least he could maybe get some DNA under his nails. The guy kicked the door open, and to Steve's credit, even with two guns on him and unarmed, he looked up at Danny with an apologetic worried look that made Danny forget all about the events of the morning. Of course, Danny was a bit annoyed that he hadn't come up with a better plan than sauntering into a hostage situation unarmed. But at least Danny was still alive.

Jackson looked bored at the whole exchange. "Happy? Your partner's alive."

Steve narrowed his gaze and turned his attention back to his former superior officer. "You have me. Let him go."

Jackson sighed dramatically, and lowered his gun, aiming for Steve's chest. "Afraid I can't do that."

Then several things happened at once. Danny distantly noted that Jackson wasn't one for words, which would unfortunately give them very little time to come up with some sort of escape plan. However, surprising Danny and making him ultimately thrilled that Steve to some extent knew what he was doing, Kono chose that time to kick open the door behind them, putting two bullets in Goon-face's back.

Chaos erupted after that. Danny fell to the floor, sucking in breaths harshly, as Kono kicked the guy who had been the slowest strangler ever out of the way, kneeling to check on Danny. Her eyes roved over him once and he nodded at her, still unable to talk. She brought her gun up searching for Jackson, who had fired a bullet into one of his henchman's chest by mistake. Steve it seemed had grabbed the guy as a personal shield and now was trying to use the guy's gun to fend off Jackson and the third henchman.

Kono started to rise to offer backup fire, but two shots from Jackson's pistol had her ducking for cover.

Steve meanwhile, was trying to fend off the gunman who was still alive. He fired one shot and hit him in the shoulder, but the guy looked like he had a night job in the WWE, and plowed into both the dead body of his former teammate and Steve, knocking them all to the ground. Steve's gun was knocked away, and he rolled out from under the dead body. He made a grab for the weapon but was brought up short by a vicious punch to the face. He lay on his back, exchanging blows and trying to block the ones coming from the huge man towering above him.

Jackson sprinted up the short flight of stairs to the deck in front of the cabin. Kono brought her gun up but before she could get a shot off, she got a vicious kick to the face from a combat boot. Jackson, snarling with a look of pure hatred on his face, grabbed Danny by the shirt collar, hoisting him up. Danny tried to hit him in the face, but his wrists and ankles were still bound with duct tape and there wasn't much he could do. Danny frantically looked for Kono for help, but she was kneeling on the deck, blood dripping from her face. She was trying to find her gun, but she was moving too slowly.

Steve found an opening finally in the gunman's defense, and extending his fingers, jabbed them hard into the guy's larynx, making him fall onto his hands and knees gasping for breath. Steve rolled out from under him, got to his feet quickly, and kicked the guy in the back of the skull, knocking him out…

…just in time to see Jackson drop a still bound Danny over the side of the boat.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Sorry again this has taken longer than it needed too, some jerks at work decided to take a vacation to Miami and Hawaii (yeah, I was crying inside too) so I've been pulling extra shifts at work. THANK YOU ALL so much for your wonderful reviews, and thanks to everyone else for adding me to their alerts, or the story to their faves, or just for reading! I really appreciate it. It means a lot to me. Also, a co-worker introduced me to Moonlight over the weekend, and I sorta turned into a Steve-whump fan overnight because of Alex O'Loughlin. That's never happened to me before. Unfortunately for Steve-whump fans out there, I sorta already have an outline for this story that doesn't include much of that, but next time. ;)_

Steve stood frozen to the deck, unable for a few moments to comprehend what just happened. Splashes and gurgling noises from the ocean however woke him up. He looked over to see Danny sort of dolphin kicking, half floating in the water. The detective sputtered out some water and shouted "Damn it, Steve GET THE SON OF A BITCH!" Steve immediately regained his resolve, but turned to find Jackson aiming a gun at him, a smirk on his face. Danny's face went under before he raised it one last time, sputtering water.

Steve took a step towards the side of the boat, but was stopped by a nagging "Ah, ah, ah…" from Jackson. Steve could hardly formulate a plan because his attention was focused on his partner. Those few dolphin kicks probably wore Danny out quickly. He wasn't a swimmer. Plus he didn't have the added use of his hands to aid him. How fast was he sinking? He was probably buoyed by the salt water a little bit, but Steve would have to dive now to get to him before he passed out. But there was a gun trained on him, and there was still Kono's safety to worry about…

Steve was torn. He couldn't see Kono at all. He presumed she was unconscious or Jackson would have his gun trained on her. If she hadn't been there, Steve would risk the bullet to get to Danny, even though all his training told him that was a stupid idea. You couldn't help someone if you were injured yourself.

Steve didn't even know what to say to Jackson. Negotiating was not his strong suit, and even if it was, it was clear this man wanted Steve's head on a platter. Actually, he might be pulling the trigger right now. Steve could swear he saw the man's grip tighten.

Bracing himself for the worst, Steve was taken aback when Jackson cried out in pain, crumbling to the deck, clutching his gun. He moved a few steps closer, and saw Kono now, conscious, her hand gripping the hilt of a knife sticking out of Jackson's Achilles tendon. "GO!" she shouted.

Steve didn't hesitate. He ran to the side of the boat, diving over the edge to find his partner.

He was buffeted by a strong current almost immediately, but kept heading straight down. He thought he saw a shadow sinking slowly, and increased his pace. Sure enough, the figure came into focus. Danny was still conscious, struggling with his bonds. Steve swam closer, and Danny noticed him finally. Steve gripped the detective's forarm first, giving it a quick reassuring squeeze, before he maneuvered so he was reaching down towards Danny with his legs above him. He wrapped one arm around Danny's chest and under his armpits, and then propelled them both upward. It was a little slow going, and Steve noticed with alarm, the lack of bubbles coming from Danny now. He couldn't see his face, but his head was nodding forward, and he had stopped struggling. There were only a few more yards to the surface. With a final burst of energy, Steve pushed to the surface, gasping for air when he broke it.

He pulled Danny up a split second later, but the detective didn't take the huge breath he had been expecting. He layed Danny's head against his shoulder, mouth out of the water, and began feeling for a pulse as he began swimming backwards towards the boat. He found one, but it was weaker than he would have liked. Next he listened for Danny's breathing, but could hear or feel none. Shit.

Putting on another burst of speed, he made it back to the boat and started yelling for Kono. She immediately appeared, looking over the side anxiously at them. "Kono! Pull him out! He's got a pulse but he's not breathing!" Her look immediately turned from one of anxiety to duty. She reached down as Steve lifted Danny's unresponsive arms, and with a huge pull, had him up and over the side of the boat.

Kono began rescue breathing immediately, two breaths every ten seconds, with Danny lying flat on his back, his arms poised above him. Steve reached up to the ledge of the boat and began to pull himself up, but before he could get his chest on the gunwale, his arms collapsed and he fell back in with a splash. Shit, he must be more tired than he thought. His partner's safety still firmly in his mind, he quickly moved around to the back of the yacht where he knew there'd be a ladder. He pulled himself up quickly, and ran around the lower cabin back to the main deck, just in time to see Danny convulse, coughing up water, and curl in on himself.

Steve sank to his knees in relief, breathing hard, a huge smile on his face as Kono rolled Danny onto his side as he expelled more water. She took the bloody knife that had been on the deck next to her and gently cut the bonds first on his wrists, then his ankles. Then she finally sat down and wiped the blood from under her nose, but it still left a red smear.

Steve crawled closer, slapping his hand on Danny's calf, just to physically feel he was there, that he was still with them. Danny coughed again, and mumbled painfully "This woulda never happened…in Jersey…"

Steve let out a full-throated laugh. "No, you would died of blood poisoning in the Hudson."

"Not…cool…"Danny rasped out before coughing again.

Suddenly something occurred to Steve and he turned to Kono with alarm. "Where's Jackson?"

"Oh, him," She stood up and moved to the opposite side of the deck, pointing downward. Steve looked down, and saw Jackson unconscious, handcuffed to a small railing on the gunwale.

Steve looked at his teammate with surprise, and some admiration. "Now, why'd you do that?" She shrugged. "Well, for starters, he dropped Danny in the ocean, kicked me in the face, and tried to shoot you. Besides, I learned from the best."

Steve grinned.

5-0

Half an hour later, Chin was back, with backup in the form of HPD and a few Coast Guard vessels. But then, Five-0 had bad guys secured, including Jackson who looked at Steve with such loathing that even Danny, as out of it as he was, was starting to notice. While HPD was examining the scene as they were towing the boat back to harbor, paramedics had Kono, Steve, and Danny spread out around the main deck, examining each one.

Danny, holding an oxygen mask to his face as the paramedics gently prodded his torso, nodded in Steve's direction before taking the mask off. "He sure has it in for you," he said.

Steve spared a glance as a paramedic asked Danny to please keep his mask on. Turning back to Danny, he said "Yeah, well, I could care less. He's not on my priority list."

Jackson growled at that. "You listen here, McGarrett. I'm gonna make you pay-"

The ex-commander was cut off as Danny stood up, dropped his mask, and moved much more swiftly then anyone thought possible after what he had endured that day. "No, you listen!" he said forcefully, pointing at him. "You abducted me, beat me, tried to shoot my partner and the other members of my team, tried to drown me, kicked my teammate in the face…YOU'RE DONE. My partner neither wants, nor needs anything to do with you anymore! You're going to jail, pal. So you better shut your trap, or I'm gonna do it for you. Because if I have to hear you speak one more time during the ride back to the mainland, I'm probably going to vomit on you. And while I don't want to be sick, I REALLY would make an exception for you. No one would give it a second thought if we tossed your ass off the boat for kidnapping a cop. So buddy, if you want to spend the rest of the ride relatively dry, I'd suggest you shut your ass up!"

By the end of the tirade, everyone, including the Paramedics and the HPD, was staring at Danny. Steve's eyes were wide in surprise, and appreciating for how his partner stood up for him when it was basically Steve's fault they were in this mess in the first place. Danny put a hand to his head and swayed a little, but Steve was up in a flash to steady his partner.

"You ok?"

"No," Danny wasn't shy about telling people how he was feeling. "But I feel a lot better now."

Steve helped his partner sit back down while the paramedic angrily shoved the mask back in place, this time looping it over Danny's head, not trusting him to his own devices.

"Thanks," Steve said quietly, his hand on Danny's shoulder.

"No thanks necessary," Danny mumbled from behind the mask. "I've been wanting to give that bastard a piece of my mind all day."

5-0

Danny was kept at the hospital overnight for observation. Kono and Steve had minor injuries and were released almost immediately. Chin had taken Kono home, but only after Steve assured them both that he and Danny would be fine, and they would see them tomorrow.

Steve chose to remain in Danny's room while Danny, hooked up only to an IV now to replenish his fluids flicked lazily through the channels on the tv, complaining pretty much about everything that was on. Neither of them said anything of substance for a long time.

Finally Steve spoke up. "Listen, Danny," he started quietly, not looking at his teammate. Danny flicked his gaze sideways for a moment before focusing on the tv again. But he didn't change the channel. Steve sighed before running his hand through his hair. "I understand if you…if you want to leave. You know, after…this…and what I said…" even though he had been going over this conversation for hours in his head, the words still tumbled out jumbled and almost non-sensical.

Danny huffed out a breath and turned to look at his partner. "You moron. Why do you think I'd wanna leave?" Steve looked at him genuinely surprised at a loss for words. "Oh my god, you do have a thick skull. Listen. So we got in a fight. Everyone does. I'm short-tempered. You're short-tempered. But Steven…" Danny sighed, rubbing his fingers against his temples before pointing with both hands back at Steve. "…like it or not, this team has sort of alienated the four of us from ever going back. You'd think I could just go back to HPD, some haole who was on the Five-0 task force? They'd treat me like some asshole that could get away with anything. They put up with us, sure, but they don't _understand_ us. You think Chin or Kono or I could go back to HPD after this?"

Steve was dumbstruck. He'd never thought of it like that. Hadn't given a second thought to the future of his team. "I'm…I'm sorry…" he stammered, shaking his head and at a loss for words.

All of a sudden Danny laughed loudly, startling him. "Oh my GOD, Steve, we all said YES. We _want_ to be here, no matter what we say or how we…I…act. And honestly, though I hate the idea that so many of your ex-army-"

"Navy."

"-whatever-friends are running around probably insane and trying to kill us all, I'm really glad you're, well, mostly sane I guess. And that you came for me."

Steve smiled. That was all he needed to hear. He and Danny would always argue, that was for sure, but they both needed that. They needed that opposite energy to bounce off eachother…and keep each other in check.

"Well, I only came after you because you owe me money." Steve grinned.

Danny feigned shock. "I…excuse me, _I_, owe _you_ money? You owe me like, nine drinking nights! Do you even own a wallet? I've never seen it!"

"Sure I own a wallet," Steve said, pulling his out of his back pocket.

Danny scoffed. "What's in it, like, two bucks?"

Steve opened it, peering inside and putting his thumb in all the pockets. "A dollar fifty-five, actually."

Danny nodded vigorously, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ok, well you can start paying off your dept to me that you owe for both the ditched tabs and the abduction, and go get me a soda from down the hall. And not that diet crap, I'm in the hospital, I deserve a real soda."

Steve laughed, standing up, happy to do so.

_-Fin-_

_A/N: Yay, finished, happy ending! Thanks everyone so much for reading, and for the reviews and faves. They make me all warm and fuzzy inside. Next time I do a Five-0 fic, more Steve Whump, I promise._


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